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WAKING UP IN RENO - OFFICIAL PRESS KIT
The cast and crew's plan at the outset of WAKING UP IN RENO was to capture the comic side of an America rarely seen
on film - the real Americana that shows up in small towns, on lonely interstates and in unassuming motels on either
side of the Mason-Dixon line. This is the America where good friends and happy lovers sometimes get into reckless
situations. The look Jordan Brady went for was spirited but totally in keeping with what you'd find just off the
beaten path on any road trip.
Like Lonnie Earl and Darlene and Roy and Candy, the cast and crew began their sojourn in Amarillo, Texas, at the
famed Big Texan Steakhouse. There, award-winning production designer Jeannine Oppewall found inspiration in a
restaurant so uniquely furnished that it borders on the unbelievable. A rococo cross between an old-fashioned western
saloon and a taxidermy museum, the wooden walls of the Big Texan are studded with western memorabilia as well as the
heads of hapless game. Three stuffed dancing bears are looking down upon the dining hall where Lonnie Earl chokes on his
72-ounce steak.
"This was the perfect kick-off for the film," notes Jordan Brady. "It really set the tone. We really wanted there to be
a distinct difference between the couples' time on the road and their arrival in Reno, which we wanted to be magical,
like they were entering Oz."
Patrick and Billy Bob Thornton
(Click for larger image)
Continues Jeannine Oppewall: "One of the things Jordan and I talked about was having the trip begin in a fairly monochromatic
environment, so nobody's house is really wildly colored, everything is soft toned. Then they get into this blood-red Suburban
and whenever they get out of the car, it's all color and noise riot. That happens until they get to Reno, which is a totally
no-holds barred dream palace for them, all loud colors, all riot all the time. It provides an intense, vibrant environment
for the internal riot in the characters, allowing their pent up secrets to come out in big, bold ways."
The trip builds to its climax in an adjoining Louis XIV - style hotel suite in Reno with sunken tubs and king-size beds,
which was built on a stage in Los Angeles' Santa Clarita Valley. "The hotel suite has a real feeling of transgression, of
decadence," explains Oppewall. "It's filled with smoky mirrors and all kinds of symbols of cheesy wealth, the kind of
things that these two couples have never seen before. It's totally over-designed and over-heated and overwhelming, just
like the situation they find themselves in," Oppewall says. Oppewall also designed the floor plan to allow for a frenzied,
comic climax when the characters all discover Lonnie Earl and Candy's infidelity.
"I always saw the film as a bedroom farce with the couples always coming and going, slamming this door, opening that door,
banging into each other so I designed a blueprint that would accommodate that," explains Oppewall. "There are touches you
might not find in a real adjoining suite, but I wanted the characters and the camera to be able to dance around one another
in funny ways."
Filming also took place in the heart of Reno's gambling district and inside its famous casinos, including The Cal-Neva,
Fitzgerald's and The Silver Legacy. The casinos remained open during filming and the constant tinny din of slot machines,
the incessant flashing lights and the overall kitschy atmosphere gave the actors a realistic approximation of their
characters' vacation. In between takes, the cast and the crew even played their own luck at the tables.
Also key to their Reno experience is the Tony Orlando concert that Darlene has dreamed about all her life. The concert
actually took place at a glittery ballroom in Los Angeles' Ambassador Hotel. Coincidentally, Orlando's performance took
place the same night Los Angeles hosted the Grammy Awards. Orlando noted that the last time he had appeared on the
Ambassador's stage was for a cinematic Grammy Award ceremony, staged for Barbra Streisand's character in "A Star Is Born."
Working closely with Jeannine Oppewall's design team was costume designer Doug Hall, who added to the comic
look of the film. From Charlize Theron's big flaxen tresses and faux snakeskin micro-miniskirts to Billy Bob
Thornton's rhinestone suit (which previously belonged to country star Mel Tillis), Hall went to town without regard
for the usual limits of refined taste.
Charlize Theron and Patrick
(Click for larger image)
Hall used an individual pallette for each character. He explains: "Charlize was like a big bowl of sherbet, in terms
of her colors and, of course, a very sexy dresser. Meanwhile, Patrick is half-preppy, half-Western, a little bit stuck
in high school. Billy Bob is in red, black and white, and he wears a lot of silk shirts, some glitter and very, very
tight pants. Natasha is in mostly comfortable clothing until she literally blossoms at the end into this liquid
evening gown that moves over her like water. When she comes into her own on that fateful night, she's totally at
ease, flowing like heated silver."
While the couples in WAKING UP IN RENO clearly would have bought their clothes off the rack, Hall elected to custom
make their entire movie wardrobe. "We could have bought clothes for these kind of characters, but designing each
piece gave me total control over the look. We could do an outlandish shirt, with a huge collar but we could tone
it down by the fabric we used," Hall says. "In keeping with the tone of the film we wanted to keep it real but
still outrageous." Keeping it real was something the actors had little trouble doing, since they, like their
characters, were trapped in a car or room together for almost the entire shoot. "It felt like we were all truly
on a road trip together," says Charlize Theron. "We'd hang out together between takes, we'd play country music,
sing songs together, tell raunchy jokes and we'd really start to feel like we were these characters - just having
a good time and trying to do right."
Songs include:
"Never Stopped Loving You" performed by Deanna Della Cioppa
"Oh Yeah" performed by Jimi Englund
"Stickshifts and Safetybelts" performed by Cake
"Aura Lea" performed by Sourcerer
"Hey Pachuco" performed by Royal Crown Revue
"The Tequila Don't Kill Her" performed by Tim Buppert and the Nashville Six
"Hang On Sloopy" performed by Billy Bob Thornton
"Higher Ground" performed by Stevie Wonder
"Any Man of Mine" performed by Shania Twain
"Sussudio" (written by Phil Collins) performed by Jimi Englund
"Dream on Dreamer" performed by The Brand New Heavies
"No Parking (On The Dance Floor)" performed by Jimi Englund
"Curry In The Air" written by Doug Perkins and Steve Goomas
"Boston Bossa" performed by Brad Hatfield
"Baby Got Going" written by Liz Phair and Scott Litt
"These Boots Are Made For Walkin'" performed by Geri Halliwell
"Knock Three Times" performed by Tony Orlando
"Also Sprach Zarathustra" performed by the Hungarian State Orchestra
"Zarathustra These Disco" performed by Jimi Englund
"The Star And Stripes" Written by John Phillip Sousa
"I'm In" performed by The Kinleys
Distributed by Miramax Films
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